Helsinki ranked 18th most popular city for international meetings

PRESS RELEASE 12.6.2015

Helsinki improved its international ranking as a venue for international meetings last year. Out of 1493 cities and 181 countries, Helsinki ranked 18th in 2014.

In its annual survey of the most popular cities and countries in the world for holding international meetings, the Union of International Associations (UIA) ranked Helsinki two places higher in 2014 than in the previous year. Helsinki outperformed many major cities, including London and Istanbul. In the country survey, Finland also ranked among the top in 19th position. Among the other Nordic countries only Sweden was ranked higher, in 17th position, while Norway was ranked 20th and Denmark 23rd.

Helsinki has performed well in international meetings surveys in recent years. Close and long-term collaboration among organisers has evidently produced results.

“Helsinki has been an attractive venue for many international meetings thanks to the city’s reputation of reliability, high level of services, excellent connections and general safeness. Increasingly, however, our competitive advantages include our leading expertise and the high level of research in many fields of science,” says Ines Antti-Poika, Convention Director at the Helsinki Convention & Events Bureau.

International meetings generate significant income for the city. On average each delegate spends almost 1900 euros in Helsinki over the course of five days.

Helsinki attracts major convention worth over 9 million euros

The biggest international meetings planned for this summer in Helsinki include the 12th Convention of the International Confederation of Principals (1500 delegates) in early August and the 15th Congress of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science CLMPS (800 delegates), which is part of the University of Helsinki’s 375th anniversary programme. At the beginning of September over a thousand education experts will gather in Helsinki at the ESERA 2015 Conference of the European Science Education Research Association.

Helsinki has also won major bids recently for international meetings in the upcoming years, including the 7th World Glaucoma Congress that will be held in June 2017. Hosted by the Finnish Glaucoma Association, the congress is expected to attract 5000 delegates and generate over 9 million euros in income for the city.
The annual conference of the International Federation of Surveyors, FIG Working Week, will also be held in Helsinki in 2017. Helsinki has also secured the bid already for the 2019 Eurotox congress, which will be hosted by the Finnish Society of Toxicology and is expected to attract 1200 delegates.

Background information about the survey

For its 2014 survey the UIA collected statistics from 181 countries and 1493 cities. The statistics cover only international meetings that are held over at least two days and are attended by foreign delegates (minimum 40 percent of all attendees). The UIA has used the same method and criteria for the past 65 years, so its statistics provide a reliable and coherent picture of trends in the meetings industry.